A war to be Fought
by Modingbeli
Summary: Melchior reveals himself as Gaara recovers from their encounter. How will he react when they meet face to face? Who are the Magi and what do they want with the Youma? In this chapter, fun with Temari and Kankurou! R
1. Desert Creature

_Naruto Fanfiction by Modingbeli_

If you feel the urge to read this again at the beginning of every chapter, just come back here.

Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto and all affiliated characters.

A War to be Fought

Chapter 1: Desert Creature

          An ominous white dune hung in the horizon. The light from the full moon failed to reflect upon its surface. In the middle of the desert, the landmark was a monument to it's own lonely singularity. A shadow appeared on top of the dune; the large figure was notably wearing a long coat with a high collar. This was most notably was a patient figure. Quickly and efficiently, his hand shot from under his coat and performed two quick seals: hare and tiger. Words were mumbled and the dune melted into a giant mountain of hot glass, only again to solidify again. White to Black, there was still no reflection of light. Red eyes turned towards civilization.

          "Come, find me Shukaku."

          From the roof of the ruined sand temple, a young man felt but not as much noticed the change in the scenery. There was a blinding light coming from the desert that only became a void of all soon afterwards. The full moon was already having an effect on his judgment. His form dissolved in a flurry of sand only to reappear at the entrance of the village. A gigantic gourd was removed from his back; it was no long necessary: all the sand in the desert was his. The young man's eyes widened maniacal as his legs suddenly extended themselves. His presence on the spot was eradicated save some residual floating dust.

          He ran for all he was worth. His body close to the ground, his arms carried backwards by the air resistances: he was all energy. He could barely feel his legs on the ground as his tiny imprints remained on the sand. A growl came from within.

          He was a desert creature.

          The feeling of freedom countered the pull of change, of Shukaku. By his own will, the youngster headed for the black monument with unwarranted passion. There was life there. There was death present; free blood could not be ignored.  As his feet encountered the slick sides of the figure; without thinking, hands fell to the ground aiding the climb.

          As Gaara launched himself to the top, he landed on his haunches, turning his green eyes upon the large man.

_Full of beautiful blood._ Gaara's body was working on pure instinct. He was an animal.

          "Are you strong?" The man gave a non-committal grunt and turned around, showing his back. There was a strange design on it. A red inverted tree, with the roots reaching towards his neck. Gaara wasn't interested in it though.

          "Your blood is mine." Gaara could already feel the change that taking place. He was no longer himself. He was one, and then he was three. The demon Shukaku at the forefront, his body morphed beyond human recognition. The monster launched himself with abandon at the nonchalant man.

          A great struggle began.

          Before Shukaku could react, there was a flurry of silver hair, and a rush of air. The boy's half transformed body crumbled under his fist. The shockwave blew all remaining grains of sand from their dune. Yellow eyes met red. Shukaku's arms slashed only to meet air again. His body went flying down the dune. How strong was he? Gaara's body was covered with sand once more as he launched himself up the hill once more.

"Do you think you have strength?" The man asked. Shukaku was only half awake, and all too aware of the strain the man was putting on the youngster's neck. The demon could only needlessly struggle against this superior power: he had lost.

The man's glowed an odd shade of blue. On his fingers, characters were now visible while in his palm a sun glowed with furious intensity. He slammed his right hand into the solar plexus of the child. Manipura, the fifth human chakra center was violated. As the man proceed to perform a seal in his right hand, he mumbled, "Power Release." Gold colored chakra energy rushed into the seal. Shukaku awoke again just to have his energy sealed into a biological prison. This was fate worse than death. As the young man's body fell to the ground, the sealer right and left hands blazed with blue fire. His fingers landed on each pectoral, burning the symbols of balance around the fourth chakra center. Anahata, the heart center was being rectified. Behind, no sign of the violation was left except the smell of singed skin.

Gaara's clothing was burn through as he finally regained complete control. He groaned in pain.

"What have you done to me?" Saliva dripped from his lips as he reclaimed motor control. The man tossed him a brown sheet and turned around facing civilization once more. Gaara's skin was cold and he was shaking. The feeling of freezing sweat dominated his senses as he fought for consciousness. His body uselessly fell on top of the glass dune, shivering. The man sighed as he turning again around to cover the youngster's body with the thick canvas sheet. As Gaara slipped into the realm of darkness, he heard the words, "If you was strength, seek me, and survive." Then he was gone.

          Gaara awoke to the sound of vultures flying overhead. By the direction of the sun, it was already late afternoon. He looked around for his gourd only to gasp in remembrance. The gourd was left at the entrance of the village. His memory had gaps. Freedom. Fight. Seal. Sleep.

          Sleep? Gaara looked around for signs of blood. None. Was it all a dream? Was Shukaku asleep finally? His fingers found the fringes of his burned shirt. His eyes widened as he saw the symbols on his chest. Ying on the left, Yang on the left. Heart balance. They slowly faded into his skin as he calmed down. He looked through the hole in his stomach. An odd numbered Seal: five marks radiating from a circle. The seemingly filled interior was composed of hundreds of lines of runes. His eyes widened as he remembered now.

          "If you was strength, seek me, and survive."

          The journey back to the village would be perilous.

End Chapter 1

AN: What do you think? I have rewritten this in light of new developments in the story. All types of reviews are appreciated, constructive comments preferred.


	2. Trial by Fire

_Naruto Fanfiction by Modingbeli_

A War to be Fought

Chapter 2: Trial by Fire

          The crossing desert was especially unsafe when alone and twice as dangerous when you were trembling from dehydration. The sand was hot under his feet; he could feel the heat radiating from the ground through his sandals. Gaara's torn muscles struggled to stay upright; his core muscles ached and his pectorals felt sore. He could see the village in the horizon. The exhausted body fell on his knees exhausted, out of energy, chakra. If this was his survival test, then he had already failed. Death would reach him before he could arise once more.

He was shocked back to life as he felt insect like movement under his shins. A cold sweat went down his neck. Desert scorpions. They weren't exactly merciful. The insect was already out into the open again. Its tail was high above its head, its legs moving across the sand in a spastic fashion. Gaara drew in a quick, hot breath. The animal froze and turned halfway around. The fact that it was about the size of his foot didn't help with his nervousness. Using the sand was completely out of the question. He relaxed visibly when the insect decided it probably wasn't worth its time. With great difficulty, he waited for it to pass before breathing again.

Moments later, he could hear and increasingly abundant noise in his ears. The pattering sounded as if someone was running towards him. Scorpion horde. _What the hell?!_ Now Gaara was scared. If they even as much grazed their stingers over him, he wouldn't ever have to worry about Shukaku again. Gathering his wits, and ignoring his body's protests, he got up and ran west like a madman.

The pain in his legs dissolved into the sand. The numbness slowly creeped up his body; it wasn't long before his thoughts were stunned between his ears. He collapsed into the hot afternoon sand.

When Gaara awoke, the moon was again high in the sky.

"Nnng…" As his hand passed over his stomach absently, he thought how long it had been since he had allowed himself to sleep. Survival instincts kicked in; his body drooped to the ground. He looked around. No blood, or any life for that matter. Suddenly, he became aware of his surroundings. Though he wasn't been threatened, was he still a threat to himself? Had Shukaku really been sealed? He remembered the golden chakra that was imprisoned inside his Manipura, the chakra center of power. Did Shukaku's chakra belong to him now? So many questions; he had to return to the village so he could begin the search for this man.  

Gaara pulled his legs Baddhakonasana position. His heels were close to his body and he felt warmer now. Putting his hands in his lap, he took a couple deep breaths. Comforting positions gave rise peace. Attempting to isolate himself from his body, he looked into himself. He almost stopped breathing when he realized that Shukaku was _asleep_; asleep a couple days before the zenith of the lunar month.

His hands performed a single hand seal. He needed to gather chakra. Since he had burned off his meager dinner (a meal no less), hunger now gnawed at his insides. As the youngster analyzed his situation, he realized that he would be able to start home again in a couple hours after he managed to think straight again. As his body trembled, Gaara realized that he didn't have time to recover enough chakra to deal with the desert chill and his hunger. Looking back, he realized that the Chunnin exam was cake compared to this madness.

          The moon was now high on the horizon; it was early in the morning. The sun was starting to stream from the east dunes. Thought the canvas coat hadn't helped protect him against the night temperatures, it had become an object of comfort. Tightening it around his small body, Gaara rose up with great difficulty and started his journey back home. The village was now in sight so this couldn't be any more difficult.

          Finally the entrance was in front of him. Sunagakure didn't have a 'gate'. It's structures simply dissolved into the desert. There was simply as checkpoint with a flag to signal one's arrival. Luckily for Gaara, there were no sandstorms today. After reaching the nearest building, the youngster fell to the ground. His running up and down the dunes had not been a good idea. Gasping for air and water, he tried to remember ever working so hard.

So this was why he was so weak; because he let the sand do everything for him. Though he had mastered all the basic Sand Clan techniques by the age of 6. His body was incomplete. Gaara growled. He needed to get physically stronger. Not stronger than everybody else, but strong enough for himself. Struggling to lift himself up, He dragged his body through the ruined wall and headed to the Outer Main. Suddenly he felt a knife at his throat.

"Well. If it isn't the little demon." Damn it. They had to try to kill him again _now_. "Whew! What happened to the Great Gaara of the Desert? Met your match out there?" Gaara growled. He focused his attention on the body that held the knife to his throat. He was behind him. His killing intent was extremely weak. There was another in the shadows ahead of him. From the angle of the knife he predicted that the man was behind his right elbow. Feh. Fool.

          The movements that proceed happened in a flurry to the human eye. As he ducked down, he threw his right arm on the ground and swept his whole body to the left in an attempt to trip the man. His left arm met air and he received a kick in the chin. His already weak body fell unceremoniously backwards to the ground. With his throat muscles suddenly clenched Gaara struggled to breathe. What was _this_ pain? _Just give up and die_. Yes that would be easier anyways. A hard foot met the side of his mouth. His body rolled. He struggled lift himself up. "Don't underestimate us. We have the advantage here."

He held a shaking hand to his mouth. Blood. He looked up. He saw his enemy's face; bandages around the neck, sand kinai-ate around the head. They weren't Chuunins and that reassured him. All he needed was to get a good hit in one of the vital areas. He couldn't focus enough to lift a single grain of sand. Neither was his body ready to sustain any attempt at unlocking his berserk state.

          "Don't get up. You'll only find it that much harder the next time." The man advanced again. "We will kill for what you did to Kurai. He didn't deserve to die."

          Gaara shook his head. "I…don't know who you're talking about."

"Of course not. You've killed so many that it doesn't matter anymore." His brother approached from the shadows. He had a bandaged arm; it was atrophied. "You did this to me, you bastard. I'll kill you myself."

          Ah, Desert Grave.

          "Wait. Lets make him feel pain first. So he can understand."

          The man rushed Gaara before he could formulate a plan. He received a fist in the forehead. His mind was swimming with pain. He had to stop this now. Charged with a sudden rush of adrenaline, he stopped the second blow from the knee with his trembling arms. He pushed the man off-balance and executed a kick his groin. While the man fell to the ground in pain, Gaara felt more exhausted than before. His brother threw a kunai at him. Gaara couldn't move. His eyes went wide as he stared at the weapon now flying towards his face.

Time slowed and he could hear the agonizing pounding in his ears. His adrenaline filled blood was running through his veins at a ferocious rate. The kunai was now only inches away from his face. His eyesight wavered once before he caught the motion of the blade, he realized that he couldn't quit here. He still had to prove his strength to that man. To die was to lose.

          Gaara ducked only to receive a crushing blow to his chest. His weak frame collapsed. Another kick followed. His body flew a couple feet to land crumpled on the ground. He coughed up more blood. All he could hear was his frantic heartbeat. He opened his eyes only to find himself loosing focus again.

          "Weak." The able brother threw another kunai. This time, Gaara had no time to react: it entered his upper left arm. Pain shot through his body. He screamed. Not from the pain, but from the incredible mind numbing sensation of not being able to retaliate.

          "Let's just end this."

          "Yes, let's make his pay for what he did to Kurai…" Suddenly, he started to move his hands: Ox, tiger, bear, and tiger. It was basic fire technique. Gaara's mouth fell open from exertion. He couldn't keep this up. He was hyperventilating to support his overstressed muscles. Damn it I can't die here. I still need to…

Flames surrounded him, the heat assaulted him: his canvas coat was on fire. As he struggled to toss off the sheet, the flames fell on his shirt. Burning through the thin material, He felt the fire on his newly made seal and he screamed.

For 7 seconds, on this clear morning, all that the Sand Village heard was this primal scream of pain.

Somewhere, higher up in the ruins, a dark man smirked.

          The flames were put out almost instantly. The two brothers faltered back from the shockwave of chakra released from the meager young man in front of them. He turned to face them, shirtless. His eyes were blank; on his abdomen there was a glowing gold sun seal. Suddenly before he could register movement, the man was flying backwards from a punch; he couldn't tell where Gaara was. Before he could hit the ground, Gaara crouched and charged his brother. The head butt aimed below his ribs threw him down. They didn't get up.

          Gaara suddenly fell to the ground, exhausted. His muscles, stiff from lactic acid were at their limit. That last push had completely sapped him. It burned to even think about chakra. As he attempted to sit while catching his breath, the sun was still rising.

Temari look outside the house gates again. Gaara had been gone for two consequent, risking being declared as missing if he didn't return soon. _Wouldn't the old men like that? _Though her demeanor betrayed nothing, she was worried for her brother. His gourd had been found and now rested in his room. She waited impatiently for the hunter-nins to bring back her brother. _Isn't that a little much?_ The order had been sent out by the council but at their expense. He wouldn't be punished; He was the village's trump card. She chewed her nails nervously as she felt Kankura behind her.   

          "No use getting nervous. The bastard is safer out there than here."

          "Yeah but Baki wasn't too thrilled he left again."

          Suddenly, with uncanny speed, two Sand hunter-nins appeared at the gates carrying small brown body. No blood. She sighed. All was well. And Gaara was … sleeping? The youngster's body was dumped unceremoniously on the ground. The warriors were obviously wary of him in his sleeping state.

          "We found him like this at the ruins; shirtless, canvas sheet near him burnt. He had fainted near the Outer Main." Their clipped reports were freely given and thus their presence was no longer required. "This is going to cost Kayou a lot of funds. Hunters aren't cheap." Kankurou nodded, "And it's not even like they worked hard."

          The girl asked, "Should he be sleeping? Won't that demon awake?"

Baki appeared in front of them. He felt the body that was still cold. His hand passed over the shirt holes, his eyes widened in recognition and horror. Someone had performed a guard seal on Shukaku. How would he explain this to the council?

"I'll take care of the body." The two siblings blanched when they saw the look that passed through the man's eyes.

"What happened?" Baki hoisted Gaara up like a sack of potatoes.

"Don't report this the elders." His form blurred into the sand as he teleported elsewhere.

The dark room made it possible to not be noticed from the outside. Besides there was no way Gaara could escape from this one. The illusion technique fell away to show the familiar mask of a Leaf ANBU. Foolish children. They would not live to see this one die.

His job was much easier now that the boy was sealed. As his kunai aimed for Gaara's heart, a hand caught his and growled.

"Cease and desist."

He was staring into red eyes. The ANBU member realized his mistake too late. He was already caught. Those eyes. They were like…Kurenai! As the genjutsu manipulation started, he felt his own kunai slipping from his hand. "Who a-are… y-y-you?"

The grave man smirked. "Kaworu Yuuhi." The solder started to choke. Death by asphyxiation was his specialty: Very clean. The body fell down uselessly, the victim brain-dead.

Yuuhi leaned down and awoke Gaara. Half lidded green eyes met an amused face.

"Welcome home."

End Chapter 2

Author's Note: Reviews, comments of all kinds, and advice are appreciated. Email me if you have questions.


	3. Recovery and Preparations

Naruto Fanfiction by Modingbeli 

A War to be Fought

Chapter 3: Recovery and Preparations

          Temari and Kankurou had had Gaara returned to them by a tall dark man. His raven hair contrasted with his cerise eyes. There seemed to be three different shades of red in them. His appearance had been suspicious until he had flashed them an ancient Hunter-nin mask, sand beaten and cracked. Temari had recognized as one from a generation ago, during the rule of their Yondaime Kazekage. It was suspicious though that he was not dressed in their standard garb.

          Though not having warmed up to him yet, they acknowledged his returning their sibling and that was enough. He smiled at them simply and added, "You might want to clean him up a little." His chuckle made them wary of his benevolent smile.

          Gaara had only been half conscious and still drowsy. His wounds had been slowly healing on their own, but they still weren't completely closed. To Temari he was in a completely vulnerable state and needed to be cared for. She used this single moment of weakness to decide to give him a decent bath. Needless to say, this gave her and Kankurou more than adequate 'bonding' time. Instead of picking the sand out of his hair, more time was spent tossing wet sponges around. Fortunately for Gaara, he had not regained full awareness during the whole ordeal. His siblings had found nothing abnormal on his body.

          By the time they were done dressing Gaara, his wounds were already closed, but Temari was more than confused about why he was still sleeping. Going out on a limb, she guessed he was still under the effect of Genjutsu. "Kai" She tapped his head twice for good measure. His eyes dilated into consciousness and he appeared to be disoriented until Kankurou walked in to announce the advent of his breakfast. Temari had to clean the bathroom.

          "What happened there?" Gaara's bland monotone seemed a beacon to his brother sanity. He could finally stop worrying. "It's her fault." His smile seemed less than apologetic. Gaara asked no more questions.

>>>>>

          The desert was calm beyond measure. There was no dust, no wind, only the unwavering beating light of the afternoon sun. One platoon formed of three Gennins and one Jounin was using the landscape to blend into the Eastern forest. Suddenly, there was a stream of kunais with small tags flew towards their cover. The explosion that ensued was carefully contained in a now flying pile of sand.

          As soon as the kunais were discovered, bushins flew in that direction. Gaara's squad headed east. They moved with the haste and efficiency of promising ANBU. There was no reason to get caught because of their movement. Their targets were taken by surprise. Baki, their team leader easily took out their genjutsu user with ease. He was easy to recognize, with his stereotypical garb. He then flew higher up so he could monitor the movement of his team. Gaara was to stand and observe and prevent survivors from fleeing. The sounds of the dying breaths of men filled the air around him.

          Gaara's eyes were strained; the night before had been the last day before the full moon and Shukaku's stress had been more than usual. Even he could smell the impeding battle that would be coming. He had been tempting him with the smell of blood and the sounds of torn flesh. There was no mercy on Shukaku's part to help him bear with the after effects of the night's trials. He couldn't feel the blood move.

Gaara suddenly became aware of 2 men in the ground below him. As they attempted to break his legs with their Decapitation technique, he launched himself up and swung on a nearby branch: they followed. He only had to glance around to know that he was on his own. His armor of sand was activated.

He barely avoided claw in the face. He released all the sand from the gourd: fighting with an extra weight in a real battle was troublesome. He touched and left the ground only to avoid another explosion jutsu. He landed, hand first and moved as fast as he could to punch the man in the solar plexus. He barely grazed him.

The hair on the back of his neck suddenly curled as he felt massive chakra behind him. He lifted the shield only long enough to give himself space to imbed a kunai in the man's forehead. All too easy. What are they doing? The other Chunnin with the claw was already on him with unpleasant speed. Gaara was surprised as his back was scratched. Speed first, strength second. The clawed arm was near his right elbow, so he grabbed it. He channeled extra chakra to his legs and somersaulted backwards into the neck of his opponent. All he heard was an inhuman _crunch_. More armor. Damn it. He twisted his grip and let go.

As he landed, he felt the familiar tingling at the base of his skull. He was been watched. It was unsettling because it was gone as soon as it came. It felt different from Baki's. After having putting up with this for years, he knew better than to let himself be distracted by someone spying on him. He ran for a close by tree doing familiar hand seals. He leaped off the trunk: Sand Shuriken.  His armor of sand was put to a more useful purpose. He aimed in the general area of the man's legs. Gaara's eyes didn't blink: his opponent was no longer there. Too late: He had caught the movement. A sea of sand and earth ripped the man's body and armor apart before he wildly attempted last minute seals. He crushed his body for good measure.

Gaara landed on the ground, his face a grimace of pain. The sun shaped tattoo on his stomach burned with a furious intensity. It itched, thought not unpleasantly. Breathing slowly, he attempted to quickly lower his heart rate. It had been 4 days since his encounter, and since then, he had found it extremely difficult to manipulate his sand.

Gaara's heart hurt as it had taken to of late. Shukaku was having problems again. He slowly gathered up his sand, leaving the body despoiled. He glanced quickly behind: the others were done and were quietly waiting for him high above. Baki eyes were glaring at him.

Moments later, the only remnants of life on the battlefield were the falling sand and moving air.

>>>>>

"That wasn't a training assignment. You need to take mission seriously from now on." Baki was a rock on his doorstep. "Why didn't you use it?" He needed an answer. Gaara looked him in the face. "I didn't need the sand to beat them. I don't need his strength either." That was a lie. He _couldn't_ bring him out. All he would get for his efforts was one hell of a burn on his stomach.

          Baki neither ignorant nor blind and could well see what was happening. "Tomorrow is the zenith of the full moon." /_Make sure you're ready/_ was the unspoken message.

          Gaara was used to being looked after as a petulant child and tool. After all, that's what he was. "I can take care of myself." Baki was already gone.

          Temari was waiting in front of the door, looking irked. "What was …"

"Don't worry about it." Gaara went straight to the kitchen. Shrugging, Temari closed the door and followed him to the kitchen.

          "The gourd stays out of the kitchen." Gaara glared at her. He seemed already settled for a snack. She felt as if she shouldn't have said those words. Still, she managed to put on a scolding face. She thought she saw his left eye twitch.

          "…"

          She went for the milk in his hand, ignoring his annoyed look. Was he pouting? She stopped looking at him and got a slice of dried bread for herself. Stepping into the living room again, she sat at their round table, chewing silently. Gaara was dumfounded. What just happened? Did she just… a tremor went through his chest. He resisted the sensation to clutch it. "I…" She gave him her attention.

          Gaara carefully walked across the room, all to aware of the sand on the floor. Removing the sash from his waist, he deposited his gourd in a corner of the room. Slowly, he pooled the sand into a little pile near the gourd. He sat down across from Temari and glared at the glass of milk in her hand. Still chewing, she made a face; "Get your own." For a second, he looked a little dejected.

          Temari wasn't dissuaded. "I left the carton on the counter top." Nod. He returned with a full glass of milk and a plate of cookies. To see him dunking them in the milk was inexplicably cute. She laughed. He raised an eyebrow. "What?" She gave him a 100-watt smile. "How was the mission?"

          He paused mid-bite and actually thought about it. He gave her the information grudgingly. They had suffered 0 causalities. The remaining sound Nins were to be taken care by ANBU tonight. The "missions" were no longer necessary. Things were finally under control. Temari nodded vigorously. She couldn't help but feel a stroke of warmth in her chest. Gaara had much more control over himself since the Chunnin exam. Though not friendly, he was much more approachable. That loud-ass kid must have done him wonders. "What are you doing tonight?" He asked. She shrugged in a noncommittal manner. She took her glass to the kitchen. "Nothing much. I'm going to be working on my scrolls."

>>>>>

Unlike like Konohagakure, Sunagakure was truly a hidden village. The village was built in a sunken valley in the middle of the country of wind. High dunes around the village contained ANBU lookout towers. The almost constant sandstorms outside the ruins seemed to discourage most people from approaching without caution.

          Inside, this city was built in a circular fashion. There were 19 levels, each with it's own function. They were split into 4 partitions for practical purposes. The outer, the ruins were a reminder of a time past. It was also used as a training ground for the higher-level ninjas who weren't afraid of being caught in a storm.

          It was a calm day when the Council of the Three met again, creating an ominous atmosphere in the room. It seemed as if something was coming. In the most recent weeks, the weather had been most kind. The Sand Gusts had abated, while the humidity had increased. This was a decent trade off considering that the humidity could actually be taped for creating a water source. Such was the same reasoning used to ally with the Leaf once more. They were there, and they were convenient, the lesser of two evils. This decision had been made by the sages in the upper room of the tower in the middle of the village. The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade had acknowledged the sages in the room as its leaders.

These were no figureheads, but were in fact the placeholder Kazekage. A trinity or any variation thereof was a common form of sustaining balance for a village in transition. These, though aged, were not the oldest in Sunagakure. Each represented one of the 3 schools of thought in the village. They were probably ninjas in their past lifetime, but they had lived the last good portion of their lives, influencing their world with their minds alone. Geniuses they were called in their prime, but now, surely, they were called wise. No shall or veil covered their faces; the netting in front of their enclose was purely ceremonial. There were no guards in the room.

Their only form of protection came in the form of multilevel seals placed along the perimeter of the walls. One could force their way in with one of two ways; either with a massive amount of chakra, or with a proper counter spell or jutsu. The latter had yet to be found seeing how the protection spell had been written with the construction of the room in mind.

          A call for attention was initiated by the interruption of a throaty cough.

          "He's stabilizing."

          "That's what his psychological evaluations indicate. However, we have reason to skeptical that their validity due to previous occurrences of relapses."

          "Insignificant. We cannot continue to make decisions that accommodate Shukaku's disposition."

          As of late, Gaara had started to volunteer in many 'A' rank missions. This special status had been cleared for him and several others in the village the week following the Chunnin exam. His delicate condition made him a 'Special Gennin'. Other heads thought that this was a way for the council to advertise the power of their Gennin without any actual political measure. Notably a certain exam. This usually required he placed under the direct control of a Jounin. The real reason was that the village was extremely low on ninjas and needed their remaining soldiers to have as much battle experience as possible.

          "That means that he can no longer be depended on 100%."

          "I disagree. He can no longer be treated as a child. Combine that with was has been happening on his last 3 missions, and you get an undeniable pattern. He has a mind of his own."

Suddenly a knock at the door ceased their deliberations. Baki stepped in. He bowed with the grace of his kind. _He_ wasn't a bad choice for Kazekage.

          Baki kneeled in front of netting. Their faces were barely visible to him. He spoke, "Sabaku no Gaara is improving."

No response.

"He refuses to feed Shukaku of the Sands." A grave voice began. "You don't believe he will survive tonight's assault."

"I don't simply believe it to be in his best interest to restrain Shukaku. After all, we know that sometimes too much pressure…" Baki looked through the netting, noticing their stern looks. He steeled his face "I'm only worried about the interests of Sand. I will do all it takes to revive her."

An ancient female voice chuckled. "It's okay to say that you are personally worried for the boy. After all, he does take on after you." She waved her hand at him passively. "After all, look how you turned out." Baki wisely kept his mouth shut.

There was some quiet rustling of loose sand as it scraped across the walls outside.

"The Magus is coming." This got his attention. "He wants free passage to Konoha, through Wind."

Baki blinked; his mind was racing. _When? How? How could a man who didn't exist send messages?_

"He wants to see Gaara."

>>>>>

_[Afternoon the following day]_

"So where are you going now?" Kankurou asked. He was lounging around the room, tuning his puppets. Apparently, his training partner had completely disarmed him (and his two puppets). He was still a bit shaky on using one hand for each. Bolts and nuts were spread on the floor. His dark T-shirt hid well the grease stains. There was a bandana around his forehead to keep his mass of hair from obscuring his view. Gaara was already tired of watching him methodically remove, clean, and replace every nut and bolt. He could only have so much of an attention span.

"…"

"Since you're going out, could you get me these nuts?" He reached underneath his bandana to get a well-creased list. He threw it at Gaara casually. Gaara looked at the dirt in his brother's hair.

"Kankurou?" He headed for the door.

"Hnn?"

"Take a bath."

>>>>>

          The council had discussed many matters. Baki included. As the head of the Jounin directive team, he might as well have been sitting in there with them. Just when he was starting to get ready to leave, the air behind suddenly felt heavier. _As if gravity had increased._ Then, the pressure was gone, leaving a man in a dark robe. A large rimmed straw hat adorned his head, obscuring his eyes. In less time than it took him to think about it, Baki had unleashed his swords. The wind had left behind a thick fissure that ran across the ground. He rushed forward only to feel a breeze near the back of his neck_._ _Fast_. He couldn't attack for fear of injuring the council members, who didn't even seem to be worried about this intruder.

          "How did you get in?" There were also wards placed around the room to prevent the Apparition Jutsu. The man shrugged and took of the hat from his head, and turned halfway towards him. His red eyes took him in. "Do you not recognize me, oh Master of the Winds?"

          A pause. Red eyes, black hair. "Kaworu-sensei?" His eyes widened in surprise; his stomach clenched. Before him was a Sand missing-nin, a former Leaf hunter-nin, and a man who was once his mentor.

          An ancient voice chuckled. "So you plan to assassinate us?" The veil was now pulled as if to facilitate the coming assault. The other wizened faces grinned mirthlessly.

          The man grinned too. "Better than that." A bandage arm was removed from the robe. He taped it twice with his right hand, murmuring choice words. The effect was not as surprising as it was effective. The dressing loosened itself on it's own accord, unwrapping itself and falling on the floor. Turning his body to the left, he lifted his sleeve a little higher.

The council was petrified. Cold sweat broke out their face. Baki could suddenly feel the wave of dread. The room started to feel a little too hot for his liking. Wishing to see the offending display, he took a step to the left.

          On the man's biceps was a seal, the sigul of the Magi. He had only seen it a few ancient scrolls involving summons; this man was supposed to be a legend, not someone he knew. On his arm was a large serpent snake eating its own tail. It was bleeding but never full of blood. Squeezing the bandages in his hand, his lips moved and his arm was covered once more.

          "So, you are now Melchior?" The man's eyes were now humorless, disgusted. "Correct." Apparently these old men knew their fairy tales much better than him seeing how they even remembered which of the Three he was. There was no disguising the aura of fear in the room.

          "I find it hard to believe that you have inherited his will."

          "You saw all the proof you needed. Besides, it wasn't my decision."

          He looked around the room, glancing at the wards. "That's some heavy stuff. You could hurt someone with that." He faced Baki.

          "Baki, I believe our discussion has reached an end." The dismissal from the meeting couldn't be anymore obvious. Bowing to the old faces, he added, "I hope we meet again, Kaworu-sensei." Nod.

          Baki walked out of the room, and disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

          "So what do the Magi what with us?"

          "There is nothing Sunagakure could give us." He paused fingering his hat. "Things have happened."

          Yuuhi kneeled down on the mat all the while pushing the door closed with a gust of chakra. His face was now grim. Lips tight, he removed his hat and breathed in deeply. "While I was gone, I was doing more than just gathering information. You should know about Akatsuki, the organization that Orochimaru, your former ally, murderer of the Yondaime Kazekage was part of."

>>>>>

          Gaara was now in the market. His presence was inconspicuous as possible, seeing how he had left his gourd at home. Having a blank face and moving at a leisurely pace helped detract attention from him. He walked into the hardware store.

Ringing the bell, he waited to be served.

A man in a dusty apron approached him. He was mumbling to himself, not really paying attention to his customer. "What you want?" Gaara slid over the list of parts. Squinting, he held the list up to the light, turning around without a word. Gaara leaned against the nearest wall.

Expecting a nice steady stream of silence Gaara once more returned his attention inward. Minutes later, his trance like state was interrupted by an increasingly annoying rhythmic drumming noise. There was only one other person in the store; judging from her dress and her aura, she was a Gennin, a bit older than he. She was impatiently waiting in one of the conveniently placed chairs. She groaned. "You'll be here till nightfall." Looking at him, she almost jumped having immediately recognizing the tattoo above his left eye.

Gaara humored her. "What are you here for?" "Just getting a plate fixed." He paused. "You could just return tomorrow or come back later."

 "Well you know…" She shrugged. She was obviously uneasy. He ignored that. Changing the topic, he asked her, "Are you still on a team?" She shook her head in the negative. "Whom are you training with?" She listed three names. Gaara only recognized two of them.

"Kankurou?" He was surprised. She sheepishly grinned. "Well, you know, it's good to get acquainted with different styles." Puppet handling in battle was certainly different. "Plus, he's trained with the Kazekage and he's given me some useful tips." She looked nervously at Gaara, expecting him to flinch at the name. His eyes were unreadable. "In fact, I saw him today." He arched an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I put his two 'friends' out of commission." She was smiling tentatively.

"So it's your fault I'm here."

"Eh?"

"He needed some replacement screws." She nodded, grinning now. "Sorry!" He shrugged. The graying man returned with 2 brown envelopes, hastily closed. He immediately recognized the mop of red hair in front of him. "A…Ah… Gaara-sama! Sorry, if…" He swallowed visibly. "If I had known it was you here, well..." He shook his head, picking up both packages. "No problem." The man seemed relieved to get off the hook. He handed the carefully wrapped plate to the girl.

"I could give it to him if you'd like." She laughed nervously now. "Nah. I rather do it myself."

It was an interesting sight, seeing the two of them walk out the store together.

>>>>>

          "So that was his true intent." The center Council scratched his head. "Surely that cannot be the only reason you are here."

          "True that you have given us valuable information, but how can we trust _you_? You single handedly created the last alliance with Konohagakure and Sunagakure and then you disappeared." Their eyes met. Ancient green eyes against red ones. Melchior didn't even want to waste effort with this contest of wills. "If you think that I am here to justify my missing status, you are mistaken. By ancient law, you are required to give me immunity. Your hunters can verify this information if you feel it necessary to spy on Konoha this early."

          "What of the other two?" Her eyes clearly said she was interested, though she kept her posture as detached as possible. In her hands was a scroll on which she quickly wrote quick points.

Melchior snorted. "The business of the Magi is our own." He leveled a glare at the woman. "However I will tell you that Balthasar has fallen to chaos. For _you_ the worst case scenario is he joining Akatsuki." Turning back to the others, he continued. "Regardless, I have come for Gaara. You have limited his potential tremendously by bending to the snake's wishes. Continuing to train him as you have, his future is possibly as the most talented Wind Assassin in years."

"However you feel about Gaara's level, we cannot surrender any ninjas currently. That is too high a gamble for us to take. He is worth at least three Chuunins."

"A ninja is worth one ninja." Melchior replied, showing his growing impatience. "You should know that the payoff is much greater. Your lack of foresight is, " He grimaced, "less than amusing." The council was silenced. In all their wisdom, they had sacrificed the future for the present.

Melchior didn't waste time to continue. "Gaara has grown this far using his will alone for his will to survive is greater that any I have ever seen. That is why he has lived this long alone and has not succumbed to Shukaku yet. I will take him and mold him into what his father truly wished." He stood to his feet and readied to leave. "None of you understood what Kazekage wished for, by sacrificing his own child to this demon."

The head council finally spoke, his eyes ashamed and downtrodden. "You will discuss the arrangements with his master. However, if you permit him to fall to chaos, we will hunt you as the missing-nin you are."

"The man named Kaworu Yuuhi exists only in flesh and soul. His will is my own to control and I will tell you now!" his back was now to them, he opened the door. "Melchior, the Magi of the West owes his allegiance to no one." His immense presence seemed to have left a void in the room.

The council were still perturbed by the sacrifice they had to make. The ancient woman started, "We must discuss this information with the others."

"I agree. Akatsuki posses a much higher threat than the loss of a few ninjas."

And in this way, these aged people continued their day, continuing in their planning. Though they had been foolish before, the war that was coming was not one that could be avoided.

>>>>>

          "You surely make yourself suspicious by trying to hide right behind me." Baki was really not interested in however was stalking him. He needed time to think. "Sorry." He almost jumped. How did they get so close to him? His muscles were tense now. He turned his head.

"Do you mind I join you?" Baki wasn't one to be taken off-balance often. This man was just too surprising. He scowled. "Then I hope you won't mind a duel."  Before a moment had passed, the man's body was torn with fists of wind. Then, poof, clouds vanished. _Bushin!_ Baki jumped up to avoid an underground grab only to meet a chakra bullet launched at him. He responded in kind. "_Renkuudan!"_ Both attacks met, but their strength was not comparable. Baki barely had a moment to analyze the situation when he was blown back from the excess chakra released. Before he could land he realized that his body was trapped in the air with metal chains. All he could see were chains. _What?_ This had to be genjutsu. The strain increased on his muscles increased exponentially every second. It felt as if the life was being wrung out of him. Suddenly he remembered. The only way to escape the chains was to… "Kai!" Just as he landed, he met a blow to the face. Dodge. Counter. His open palm was crushed into the solar plexus of his opponent. His opponent flew back a good 10 meters. Baki rose to his full height.

"There's only one man who can use that Genjutsu. Show yourself Kaworu-sensei." The beaten man's form had already disappeared and in it's place was an imposing figure, barely Baki's own height. His red eyes were glistening. There was a smile on his calm face. "You're still not to be taken lightly." This time it's hair was it's original shade of silver. Arguably a gray so muted it was white.

          "I hope you didn't think that using that on me again would work. After all, I've grown."

          The man laughed. "So the student surpasses the teacher?" Baki's face relaxed. "Not even close."

          The two men stood for a moment measuring up each other, and comparing the other to the image left in their minds. Baki turned away and continued walking towards Gaara's place. "Why did you return here?"

          Yuuhi advanced. "Just to fill out a Declaration of Name Change form. After all, isn't that what …" Baki bristled, "This is no time for jokes!" Yuuhi was still smiling. "Sorry, sorry."

>>>>>

          "Eh? You again? I thought you caused enough trouble for today." The brown haired girl frowned. "And here I thought you would be happy that I picked that up for you."

          Kankurou unwrapped the package and held it up to the light. He sighed. _/What a lousy wielding job. It's a completely different color./_ "Whatever." Karasu was going to need a new coat while Kuroari were pretty much re-assembled except the missing screws, and the faceplate. "And you had to go and hit him as hard as you could." Gaara tossed him the pack of bolts, along with his list. "Look, it's you're fault if your little dolls bend like plastic." Angry dark eyes clashed with complacent green ones. She contorted her nose. "You need to shower." Before Kankurou could do anything, Temari decided to walked in. "Who's your friend?"  It was her turn to make dinner.

"No one." He countered.

          "I didn't know there was a party tonight." The girl reddened. Turning towards Temari, she bowed low. "S-s-sorry. I'm… I'm Mitsuga Kayura." By now, Gaara was already back on the couch, looking interested. Nodding, Temari asked, "Why are you here?" She was fumbling over her words now. Temari was being downright scary. Kankurou covered for her. "She's my training partner and she brought me a gift." Kayura glared. "See?" His Cheshire grinned was irritating her. "Oh, it's for your dolls. Not interested." Temari went to the kitchen to get herself some snacks.

          Gaara suddenly tensed. This got Kankurou's attention. "What?" There was suddenly a knock at the door. "It's Baki." Baki opened the door, as it was unlocked. Temari was now back, seeing whom the visitor was. "Gee, it really is a party." Gaara froze when he felt the presence of the man behind Baki. The sand from his gourd started moving.

He could tell both men knew each other, but there was a certain lack of familiarity coming from Baki. _Like always._ The stranger was way too comfortable. His smile seemed stuck on his face. "I guess you passed my survival test. You can't even get home without causing a ruckus."

          All neutrality was gone from Gaara's face only to be replaced with anger.

          "Now, now, what's with that look?" Gaara could still remember the pain on his abdomen from his half crazed slumber. This was a man strong enough to single keep Shukaku at bay.

          Baki broke the tension. "Gaara, this is Kaworu-sensei. He will…" Gaara ignored him. "I don't care." Temari placed the soda she was drinking on the table. Her muscles were tense. This was the same man that brought Gaara home, not four days ago. _Except for the hair color._

          "It was in your best interests." He pointed at Gaara's chest. Gaara's face prominently displayed his anger now. "What did you to me?" Smile. "All in good time, young friend. Besides, you don't even know who I am! My apologies." He cleared his throat then began again.

          "I am Kaworu." Baki's eye twitched. "We already established that." "Really? I wasn't paying attention."

          "Are you ever?"

          Gaara was getting irritated. He wanted the seal on his chest off. Now. Kankurou subtly asked, "Why don't you close the door first." Slam. _Damn, Gaara was mad._ "I ALMOST DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!"__

          His face suddenly serious, "You couldn't control him. If you let him out too long, he would have consumed you in his blood rage. I had to separate you two." Baki was suddenly pale. "Don't tell me you put _that on him_?!"

          "Hey, hey, don't get so exited."

          Temari was sort of relieved to know that the slightly taller man was on their side. She had enough of the attacks on Gaara. "Why don't you stay for dinner?"

          Kaworu flashed her a dazzling smile. "Sorry, fair lady. As much as I would like too, I have other business to attend to tonight." Temari shrugged and returned to the kitchen. Kayura was back to 'helping' Kankurou fix Kuroari. Baki cleared his throat again.

"Kaworu-sensei will be in charge of your training for the next couple months." His friend raised an eyebrow. "I didn't even broach that topic." Baki ignored him. "I'll be taking my leave now. See you in the morning at the training grounds." Now, instead of his body was a vacuum of air. A slight pop in the air indicated the space being filled. Kaworu went for the door. "Well Gaara, I'm sure we'll see each other again tonight." He waved at Kankurou, who just grunted. Click.

There was moment of silence until Kankurou grudgingly said, "I'm going up for a shower." Kayura mumbled "About time."

"You better have put the arm screws in by the time I get back." She gave him the finger.

"Gaara!" He was being called into the kitchen. Why? It wasn't even his night to cook. Temari handed him a dirty apron, which he just hung around his neck. "Gee, tie it up. Oh, and wash your hands or you'll get sand all over the soup." A quick look told him that it wouldn't have mattered anyways; Temari couldn't cook to save her life. As Gaara was rinsing out the sand in the sink, she finally asked, with a hint of trepidation "So, you know how to make rice balls?"

>>>>> End Chapter 3

AN: I need a beta reader (or more) if anyone wants to do it. Reviews appreciated!


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